![]() VisitingÄespite the long history of the Sinclair castle, when you visit Mey you are really seeing the castle as it was during the Queen Mother's long stay here. But aside from little touches like that, if the Queen Mother was to walk back into the Castle of Mey today she would instantly recognise every room, every arrangement of furniture, and all the objects on display. The very knowledgeable room guides pointed out the new carpet on the entrance stairs added by Prince Charles. The castle interiors are essentially as the Queen Mother left them, with very few exceptions. Most of the restoration was done by 1955. The castle was in poor condition, but over the next few years it was restored to provide a suitable residence, and the Queen Mother turned her attention to the 30 acres of gardens and grounds surrounding the house. Over the next few decades, she spent three weeks at Mey each August, and 10 days in October. At that time it was known as Barrogill Castle, but the Queen Mother restored the original name 'Castle of Mey'. Then in 1952 Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother purchased Mey as a place to retreat from the public eye after the death of her husband, King George VI. This he did, but when Heathcote/Sinclair died, his widow sold the castle to Captain FB Imbert-Terry. When the 15th Earl died without an heir he left the castle to his friend, FG Heathcote, on condition that Heathcote change his name to Sinclair. The transformations wrought by Burns created the romantic, turreted castle we see today a mix of late medieval and Victorian fantasy. ![]() The castle's main entrance had always faced the sea, but Burn and the Earl had other ideas Burn created a new projecting gatehouse on the landward side, and added a grand dining room. In 1819 the 12th Earl called in architect William Burn to transform the 16th-century castle into a comfortable mansion. George Sinclair was the first of the Sinclairs of Mey, who eventually gained the Earldom in 1789. John killed William in revenge, but John himself was then killed, and the new castle at Mey eventually passed to the Earl's 3rd son, George. ![]() William discovered that John was planning an escape, and told the Earl. In 1573 William visited the family seat at Castle Girnigoe, near Wick, where his elder brother John was being held prisoner by the Earl. The castle was built by the 4th Earl of Caithness for his son, William Sinclair. The early history of Mey is a bloody tale of family feuding and betrayal.
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